Four hundred thousand square feet of Freres Engineered Wood’s Mass Ply Panels was used on the 9-acre mass timber roof in the Port of Portland’s PDX Terminal Project. The Port of Portland recently announced that they have reached the halfway mark in a five-year long airport expansion project. The use of Freres’ MPP has made it possible for the designers to mold and shape the PDX Airport roof into its lattice design.

There were 1,347 Mass Ply Panels used in this first phase installation. The PDX Terminal Project’s 18-million-pound mass timber curved roof supports 49 skylights installed across the roof. An impressive 2,425 MPP parapet panels surround the perimeter of the roof that gives it its unique curved design.

Associate principal at ZGF Architects, Christian Schoewe, celebrated Freres’ latest improved appearance-grade MPP at the Industry Summit on Timber: Timber in the Digital Environment. Schoewe says, “One of the unique things about using Mass Ply Panels is that it gave us an opportunity to improve the design because of the areas where it gets expressed, it just looks very clean. The improved appearance-grade MPP is absolutely stunning.”

Due to the size of the new terminal roof, the installation was divided into 18 “cassettes,” which are portions of the roof that are approximately 800,000 pounds. Fourteen panels were installed in January and four remaining panels will be installed in 2024.

Freres also notes significant carbon benefits from this mass timber roof. “We supplied 73,527 cubic feet of MPP (2,082 cubic meters) for the terminal roof. Using WoodWorks Carbon Calculator, we determined that there are 2,208 metric tons of carbon dioxide stored in that wood,” says Tyler Freres, VP of Sales at Freres Engineered Wood. “Considering this helps us avoid 854 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in carbon dioxide, the total potential carbon benefit that MPP contributes to this new airport roof is 3,063 metric tons of carbon dioxide.”

For more information on Mass Ply Panels, their sustainable benefits or their use in the PDX Terminal project, contact Tyler Freres at tyfreres@frereswood.com or 503-859-2121.

About Freres Engineered Wood Products

Freres Engineered Wood, formerly Freres Lumber Co., Inc., has a 100-year history of innovation in the wood products industry, beginning in 1922 when T.G. Freres started a small sawmill in Oregon’s Santiam Canyon. Today, Freres’ operations include finished plywood, lumber, veneer and structural composite lumber, Mass Ply products, biochar, and a cogeneration facility that supplies renewable power for the local area. Known for being traditionally innovative, Freres is deeply committed to its community and to sustainable forest management practices. The company uses 100% of the wood it processes throughout its three operations—Freres Engineered Wood Products, Freres Timber and Evergreen BioPower LCC—and six wood products facilities. Freres provides family wage jobs to nearly 500 employees. For more information, visit www.frereswood.com or call 503-859-2121.